PROVIDENCE - GreenBytes Inc. has named Chris Maher as chief operating officer to lead “ongoing market expansion,” the computer hardware and software pioneer announced Thursday.

“Chris Maher is an important addition to the executive management team, where we expect to experience an immediate and meaningful impact on GreenBytes’ global operations,” Steve O’Donnell, GreenBytes chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “Chris has a tremendous amount of experience in the virtualization space, and his related skillset and leadership will play a pivotal role in the future success of our company.”

Maher holds more than a decade of experience building sales teams for software startups. Maher most recently served as support and senior sales engineer at Flexera Software, in which the company reported he had helped deliver more than $30 million in revenue.

Before Flexera, he worked on sales and support operations for Intel Corp.’s Neocleus, a client hypervisor provider. Prior to this position, he worked as a practice manager for Microsoft Corp. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Kettering University.

“I’m pleased to be joining GreenBytes and its highly accomplished team of executives at such an exciting time in the company’s evolution,” Maher said in a statement. Maher will be responsible for GreenBytes’ 24x7x365 customer service center, manufacturing team and its global logistics team.

Maher’s appointment reflects the firm’s continuing growth and increasing need for leadership capable of functioning on a global scale. The company, which was founded in Westerly in 2007, began expanding into the European market last year, and currently has offices in London and Amsterdam.

Anticipating substantial expansion in 2013, GreenBytes moved from South County to Providence to utilize the proximity to bustling technology and engineering opportunities in Boston. “By the end of 2013, we’re hoping to be 1.5 times the size we are today. Right now we are close to 40 [employees],” O’Donnell told Providence Business News in a February interview.

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